Xantara
by Enzeru Tomoshibi
Summary: This is the story of a woman and the friends she meets, their journey, and an epic quest. People from many worlds are drawn in by an ancient spell and tasked to save a world none of them even knew existed. Together they share a single goal, to find a way home.
1. Chapter 1- The Catalyst

The thunderous sound of hooves striking the dirt path echoed across the plains. From the Yosho mountains to the Sea of Serenity the steady beat could be heard like an oncoming storm. Every man, woman, and child in the kingdom knew the meaning of the sound. Like a marching drum, they were drawn by the sound to a small village called Raito; to the the procession of the fully armored knights led by their eternally young queen and the Grand Magus. Their destination was the enchanted flower fields just outside of Raito. There, the fate of the entire kingdom of Xien would be decided.

It had been ages since the two of them had last been seen in their respective roles as they had both been forced into hiding by the world's last remaining evil creature known as the Final Dark. The villain's true name was lost to history and many rumors circulated that the knowledge of his name would bring him to justice. Many had tried and many had failed. The evil shadow lord had destroyed everything in his path including the royal family.

Eighteen years ago the queen had arrived, fatally wounded, in Raito carrying the baby princess Meeka in her arms. The queen died from the deep lacerations covering her back and left the princess in care of the person she was seeking; the Grand Magus Zento. He was the hero of the royal family and one of their few trusted friends. The elder raised the princess as his granddaughter while he himself retained a reputation of a crazy old wizard. When the princess' curse became apparent, he allowed everyone to think that he just wanted the girl to stay small and cute forever so she would never need have adult worries or teenage temptations.

All of that was history now as it was time to enact an ancient prophesy thousands of years in the making. The queen and Grand Magus planned to sacrifice themselves to summon heroes from other worlds to defeat the magic devouring darkness that crept over the land like a plague of death. Naturally, it was the brain child of the final dark and the evil lord of shadows that raised him.

Meeka and Zento stopped in the middle of the field of flowers and they were surrounded by a circle of knights. Everyone was silent; grave expressions darkened every face. The two central figures dismounted their steeds with their heads held high. They surveyed the knights for a moment before the Grand Magus spoke.

"I will begin the ritual. Both of us fully expect to lose our lives but heed my words good people and Xien! A hero will emerge to become the leader of all free peoples of Xantara. Even the western continent in all their military glory will know peace."

Th crowd seemed to stiffen as the Magus raised his white-robed arms above his silvery white mane. The elder began to chant in an ancient language as the queen drew her blade and waited. She held it over her left hand and watched the Magus intently as if waiting on a signal. As she waited, a swift wind kicked up and dark clouds covered the sky. A swirling hole opened up in the sky that looked to be a black void of pure nothingness. The Magus continued his chant, undisturbed by the event. Debris began to lift into the air and assault everyone in attendance. Even over the howl of the wind you could hear the small rocks and sticks ping off the knights' armor. The wind seemed almost to whisper a chant of its own before a loud boom was heard in the distance. An evil laugh filled the air, drowning out all sound save for the Magus and chilling everyone to their core and causing the horses to buck their riders and run.

"You shall never defeat me you foolish mortals, you shall lose."

The queen and Magus both received shallow gashes on their arms from debris that was flying through the air in a seemingly random manor. Through the chaos the Magus struggled to keep the spell going. as the queen searched for their enemy. As quickly as it had began it ended. The manically laughter of the Final Dark died with the wind. The void portal that had formed above them cracked and shattered; the dust settling and being carried off by the wind. The Grand Magus collapsed, his energy spent, and the queen looked tired and tried but otherwise in fair health. Many of the knights were sporting cuts and fatigue similar to those of their most important charges. One would almost think that the enemy had show compassion to the two great leaders but the truth was much more sinister; he had destroyed the prophesy.

Meeka swore and sheathed her blade before offering her hand to the fallen elder. "Please tell me it was supposed to end like that."

Magus Zento accepted the girl's offer of assistance as a solemn expression darkened his face. "I'm not certain. This magic is older and more powerful than I and there was no way to test it before hand. I guess we must wait and pray to the goddess it works."

The queen pouted, puffing out her upper lip as a scorned child would. "I don't like it."

The Grand Magus placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and looked into the distance. "Neither do I, my child, but we have little choice to accept our fate and have faith in the ancients' magic. We shall have the knights gather the horses and return to Raito."

Zento was unsteady on his feet and had to have help from Meeka to walk back to the village. As they regrouped, the knights gathered the horses and returned home, waiting to one day be called upon again.


	2. Chapter 2- Dashed Hopes

A dimly lit corridor, damp and teeming with new plant life, was the perfect place for a sphere hunter to hide. Well, when they weren't being chased after stealing a rare sphere from a rival and then bribing the tunnel guard to look away while they snuck in the restricted area. This tunnel led to the farplane and since the region had become unstable, it had been placed under guard for the 'safety' of the people. The farplane, as any Spiran knew, was the final destination for the departed. This would be the final destination for a former summon turned sphere hunter after many years of hard work and less than admirable actions.

The dark haired woman slinked from shadow to shadow as quickly as she could. Occasionally, she would stop and hide in a dark corner to allow pursuers to pass by her. She would always reemerge when she was certain the coast was clear and those people had found a corridor they were certain she had went down. Once she was certain the people looking for her had all past she set off at a dead run, her soft leather boots kept her steps quiet and light. It wasn't until she stepped in a puddle of standing water did she make any sound and that echoed loudly through every reach of the underground.

Even if they managed to catch up to her now, there would be no stopping her. She would not, could not, refused to fail. She had went so far as to resign herself to death or murder before she failed and for her to have lived for this moment for so long, and had moral objections to both options, that was certainly saying something.

A light appeared at the end of the tunnel as the woman pushed forward, her heart fluttered in anticipation. The leather half skirt she wore fluttered behind her, mirroring the movement of her hair. Once she was in the light, she turned around as cast blizzard to seal the entrance with ice. That would slow them down long enough. If this worked, she wouldn't stand alone any longer. She ascended the stairs and passed through the veil into the farplane. A smile grew on her face as she stood there on the viewing platform.

"I'm back. Sorry, I'm a day later than I usually am, but I suppose you will forgive me since I'm here to fulfill my promise."

Three ethereal figures appeared before her, posed together as best friends would be. They seemed happy and without a single care in the world. Seeing the trio again brought peace to the former summoner and reminded her of the past she had come from. This was no time for a casual visit, however.

"I don't think even I will be able to bring you all back at once. This thing seems to require time to charge and there are some less than happy people following me. I swear that I will bring you all back. I do have to admit I'm more than a bit biased, but I hope you will all approve of my first choice. I'll need his strength to hold them back while I recover."

The young woman removed a opalescent orb from the pouch that hung to her side. She held it up for a moment in the light, her bright blue eyes focusing on the item for a moment, observing the swirling flashes of color. "Fayth help me. Give me the strength." In a swift movement, she jammed it into her garment grid. Shifting, one by one, from one appearance to another; from her default punch mage, to red mage, then finally to the forum she wanted.

A rain of pure while feathers fell as pyreflies swarmed around her. The feathers fell upon her to form two enormous, glowing white, wings; her clothes and hair turned white and silver. Her skirt was split in three places and seemed to flow around her like water. Her top fit snugly to her form, as was her usual style. She leaped into the air and caught a white feathery bow daintily in her hands. Instead of returning to the ground, and angelic form she took seemed to just float there as she began to mutter a long, complicated spell. She began to spin her bow in front of her.

Below her, out of the corner of her eye, she could see her pursuers on the other side of the icy wall, chipping away at the barrier as quickly as they could. It was too late for them to stop her, the spell was almost complete. Before she could utter the last words to complete the spell, a dark and empty void opened behind her, pulling her to it. The sphere hunter yelled the final words just in time for the voice to dispell her wings and overtake her completely. Then everything was dark, quiet, and unresponsive.


End file.
